[ Thanks to Jason
Greenwood for this link. ]
“‘Free’ is used as in the phrase ‘free speech’ (a right we
covet), rather than the phrase ‘free beer’ (always too good to be
true) or ‘free kitten’ (which sounds good, but has a high
overhead).“Confusion arises because free software mostly has a zero price
tag as a natural consequence of the original license, the GPL, that
enforces the liberty of developers to use code created by their
peers. The innovation of the Open Source Initiative was to provide
new, more business-friendly licenses. By suggesting alternatives to
GPL licensing, it enabled hybrid open-source/closed-source
works.“The early years of open source have thus focused on free (as in
beer) software, so it is still possible to misunderstand. But we
have seen a definite shift in thinking. The open-source community
has welcomed companies that build commercial enterprises, as long
as they act symbiotically rather than parasitically. Today it is
clear that open source has matured…”